The present invention relates to a knitting machine with a thread exchange device, with at least one knot unit and a thread processing point of the knitting machine, and with a control device which has a microprocessor and a knot data storage for the thread exchange device, wherein the control device has a sensor which delivers pulses depending on the movement of the machine parts.
Knot units as thread exchange devices (U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,531,385 and 4,691,535) are used in knitting machines on an increased scale, in which during a thread exchange the new thread is tied with the old thread to make a knot. In this manner, exactly localized thread exchange points are produced in a knitted texture, which is especially advantageous during a color exchange. However, as for the control, there is a problem to control the knot unit and the thread supply so that the knots appear in the knitted article exactly on the desired thread exchange points. The known control devices for solving the above-mentioned problem have the disadvantage in that a great number of sensors is required and correspondingly a great number of measuring data in the control device must be considered, which makes the construction of the control device complicated.